Urgent - Government Proposals To Axe Dla And Aa

[littlewillie]

Hi msowing, I think that's difficult to answer at this precise moment in time.

I would suggest contacting a charity or an association that is connected or relevent to the condition or disability that your son has.

This will also prompt them into campaign mode, if they are unaware also.

Kind regards, Bill

[msowing]

Hi msowing, I think that's difficult to answer at this precise moment in time.

I would suggest contacting a charity or an association that is connected or relevent to the condition or disability that your son has.

This will also prompt them into campaign mode, if they are unaware also.

Kind regards, Bill

 

Thanks Bill

 

I am just curious. Will contact NAS [he's autisitc].

[littlewillie]

Hi Alan,

Many thanks as I was about to make the same post.

My cynicism tends to believe that the cuts are a cross party idea in retaliation to the Telegraph's highlighting of the MP's expenses.

Although, they would have the audacity to penalise the more vulnerable of society, regardless of their exposure.

I've had epilepsy for 40 years, it is now intractable (out of control) and I'd like to issue a further warning to the disabled.

Dr Burgermeister, an Austrian journalist, has Filed Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder.

Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder

 

With a full transcript of the charges at;

https://share.acrobat.com/adc/adc.do?docid=2c7f15d9-53e6-4a9c-ada7-0592054b3675

I think it's fair to comment that it is more than a conspiracy?

 

Bill.

[alanfromderby]

I have a quick question. I read the papers but couldnt see it mentioned. [unless of course i missed it].

 

IF the greenpaper goes through what happens to people who been awarded a 'life' [indefinate] award for DLA? My son was awarded both when he was 16 yrd old. He was assessed as needing 24/7 care for the rest of his life.

 

My feeling is that the Green Paper is deliberately vague, and has the feel of a fishing expedition. It is big on generalisations but very small on detail, which would tend to suggest that they want to gauge reaction from the various pressure groups and the general public before deciding how radical to go with this.

 

I think you can be fairly certain that the mobility element is safe - the effect on the motor industry would be devastating if Motability was undermined in any way.

 

As for the care element, the paper gives no real clues. Of course this may mean that a person with an indefinite award is okay - but on the other hand it may not.

 

Of course, if people don't express their concerns loud enough now it may be too late to get changes made when it comes to the inevitable White Paper - and don't forget, if the opinion polls are correct, the legislation could be going through a parliament with the backing of a new government with the a massive majority.

[photoman]

In line with the recent email sent out by the campaign, asking subscribers to write to individual charities and organisations.

 

Here is a link to The Royal Society of Medicine.

 

Patient support group links - The Royal Society of Medicine

 

On this page, they give a list of some of the various support groups and charities.

 

Go to the various links, and then find the contact details for the society, charity or support group related to your illness.

 

Then write to them, asking if they are aware of the Green Paper, and follow the guidelines offered by the last email:

 

 

So what we're going to suggest you do today this week is to get in touch with a local or national disability organisation, preferably one that deals with a condition that affects you or someone you care for.

 

Even if all you can manage is a quick email saying: 'What are you doing about the green paper plans to abolish some disability benefits?' that will be enough to make them realise people are aware of, and concerned about, the issue.

 

But if you feel able to write in more detail, below are some of the points you may want to make. We haven't written a standard letter or email for people to copy because we think that they may quickly be dismissed as just a sort of spam.

 

1 Explain very briefly that you are concerned about the proposals in the Shaping the Future of Care Together green paper to integrate some disability benefits into a new funding stream for a National Care Service

 

2 Explain why DLA care component or AA is important to you.

 

3 Point out that it's vital that their organisation work with other disability charities to fight with you on this issue, because the government will find it hard to ignore a wide coalition of disability organisations.

 

4 Point out that RNIB have put a statement on their website saying they will oppose the scrapping of AA and other disability benefits and that if such a reputable organisation is prepared to do this then there's no reason why every disability organisation can't do the same.

 

5 You might want to explain that at the moment the campaign against abolishing disability benefits is being led by a private sector company and that you think this is highly inappropriate, it ought to be a coalition of charities leading the way.

 

6 You may also want to suggest that if charities look the other way as their members are deprived of a vital part of their income then it may result in charities getting a great deal less support, fewer members and fewer donations in the future.

 

7 Most important of all: ask for a reply. And if you don't get one, keep going back until you do. And when you do, send us a copy and we'll publish at least some of them. Or if you're a Benefits and Work member, post the reply in the forum here:

Edited August 11, 2009 by alanfromderby
Tidying post

[cp1949]

I receive high rate mobility and have a motorbility car, how is this going to affect me as I would be lost without my own car and have no way of paying for one without the high rate mobility allowance.

[alanfromderby]

As I said above, the Green Paper makes no mention of the mobility element - it concentrates on the care issue only. I also doubt they will consider anything that is likely to cause further disruption to the motor industry, and let's face it, the one stable sector for car producers and retailers during this crises has been the Motability business.

 

One slightly tongue in cheek point - if you are going to upset disabled people, it would be extremely foolish to upset those with access to their own transport, especially when they can access central London free of charge.

[Delta-Charlie-76]

"God help us if the social services get hold of this- my daughter has Aspergers & at present gets DLA however according to SS she doesn't meet their criteria for help so in effect she wouldn't get anything!!!" posted by bambinia.

 

Agree 100% on this, my partner has Aspergers Syndrome amongst other things & she doen't meet Social Services criteria, I also care for her 24/7 & get Carers Allowance. When she did have SS involved in her care a good few years ago, they were worst than useless, when she needed them most they effectively desserted her:mad:, so giving care funds or what ever to SS, they must be mad, they couldn't arrange & slosh up in the local brewery (thats being polite). If DLA & AA are to be taken away, what the hell are people who have DLA/AA supposed to live on? Signing petition! Rant over!!!:mad:

[littlewillie]

Hi All,

an update from www.disney.go.com/mickey//news/latest-news/1097-stop-press-charities-left-reeling-by-your-response

 

Well done to all CAGer's that responded, overwhelmingly.

 

Dear Will,

It's been an extraordinary fortnight since this campaign began. So, apologies for the long email, but we want to get everyone caught up.

 

AA & DLA WON'T END ON 13 NOVEMBER

 

Firstly, we want to make it absolutely clear that AA and DLA are not going to be abolished on 13 November, because some people seem to have got that impression.

We're asking you to make your voice heard before the green paper consultation period ends on 13 November because, if you don't, it makes it much more likely that disability benefits will be handed over to local authorities at some time in the future.

EMAILING DISABILITY ORGANISATIONS

Over 19,000 people have now signed up to the campaign and last week disability charities were deluged with emails after we asked campaigners to contact them and ask what they are doing about this issue. So much so that after a few days we had to ask you to stop sending emails, as they were simply being met with standard responses and were very unlikely to even be being read.

But you got the message across in astonishing numbers and with extraordinary speed and effectiveness. It is very unlikely that there is a disability charity in the UK that is not highly aware of this issue and also aware that their members are watching how they deal with it. You can read more about this at:

www.disney.go.com/mickey//news/latest-news/1097-stop-press-charities-left-reeling-by-your-response (mhtml:{56916D17-AF68-4250-928A-85278507C3DC}mid://00000921/!x-usc:Stop press: charities left reeling by your response)

We think it would be excellent if as many disability charities as possible were monitored over the coming months to check the degree to which they publicise this issue, consult with their members and respond to the green paper. It's not something we have the resources to do here. But we're hoping that groups of claimants with an interest in a particular charity might get together to do this.

The Carer Watch website below has made a forum available for anyone involved in this campaign to use for free, you don't have to be a Benefits and Work member. You might want to try to meet up there with people with an interest in the same organisation.

CONTACT YOUR MP

This week we're asking you to contact your MP and/or regional assembly member and ask them what they are going to do about this issue.

Once again, we're not going to provide a standard letter because we think that will be taken a great deal less seriously than your personal opinions. But some of the things you might want to include are:

Tell your MP that you are concerned about proposals in the green paper to hand disability benefits over to local authorities.

Would the proposals make you less independent or affect your quality of life?

Ask them to ask the secretary of state for work and pensions to provide a precise list of which benefits may be affected now or at some time in the future. You might also want to ask for an explanation of why such unclear terms were used in the green paper when people's future is at stake and they are supposedly being consulted with.

If your MP isn't Labour, ask them what their party's policy on this matter is.

Whatever party they belong to, ask them if they are prepared to give an assurance that they personally will vote against any plan to transfer funding from attendance allowance or disability living allowance to local authority control.

Would you vote for another party if you thought they would be less likely to cut your benefits? If so, tell your representative. - they may be interested to hear that.

You can write to your MP at their constituency office or at the House of Commons (though it may take longer to get a reply from there as MPs are on holiday at the moment) or use Write to Them which is also useful just for identifying who your representatives are:

www.writetothem.com/ (mhtml:{56916D17-AF68-4250-928A-85278507C3DC}mid://00000921/!x-usc:WriteToThem - Email or fax your Councillor, MP, MEP, MSP or Welsh, NI, London Assembly Member for free)

WHERE TO SHARE YOUR REPLIES: CARER WATCH

Rather like the disability charities last week, we were completely overwhelmed by your emails. There's no possibility of us being able to answer them all. However, if you're a member, you can post information in our discussion forum at:

http://www.disney.go.com/mickey//forum?func=showcat&catid=13

Whether you're a member of Benefits and Work or not, you can also post in the Carer Watch forum below.

Although set up by carers, Carer Watch is being used by sick and disabled claimants as well. We've heard a lot from Carer Watch in recent weeks about the work they've done to try to get carers organisations to be more assertive in relation to benefits and to consult more with members and we've been very impressed, particularly as they are an entirely unfunded group.

They've set up a special forum for this campaign, you have to register to post, but it has the huge advantage that it's entirely free:

carerwatchdotcom.myfineforum.org/about748.html (mhtml:{56916D17-AF68-4250-928A-85278507C3DC}mid://00000921/!x-usc:carerwatchdotcom.myfineforum.org :: BENEFITS & WORK CAMPAIGN)

We've also written a brief article about the kind of responses you're likely to receive from your MP:

www.disney.go.com/mickey//news/latest-news/1098-beware-weasel-words (mhtml:{56916D17-AF68-4250-928A-85278507C3DC}mid://00000921/!x-usc:Beware weasel words)

AND FINALLY . . .

Congratulations on what you've achieved so far. The campaign has grown so quickly and spread awareness of this issue so widely that we've dropped our original plan to send out an email with a new task each week. The idea of chipping away bit-by-bit at different disability agencies that we originally had no longer seems to make sense. But there will be more emails over the coming weeks - we have at least one more major task after this one - and we'll be keeping people informed after that.

What would be really excellent now is if the realisation that there are many thousand of claimants out there who are able to get together and act for a common purpose could be translated into something longer lasting. There's no point in a private sector company like ours trying to spearhead this - we are far too open to the accusation that we are only in it for the money.

Is it time for someone to revive the idea of a Claimant's Union?

Good luck,

Steve Donnison

Please feel free to forward or publish this email.

Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd

Company registration No. 5962666

[Mungypup]

I think it's very important that all Carer's get involved as well as if this is to happen it will no doubt have an affect on any Carer's getting Carer's Allowance (formerly known as ICA). One of the first checks made when a claim for Carer's Allowance is made is a check that either AA or DLA at the middle or high rate care component is in payment. If the disabled person is not enitled to one of these qualifying components the claim is rejected. Also, as it is a condition of CA that these Disability benefits are in payment, if the AA or DLA care component entitlement stops, Carer's Allowance (CA) will also stop. They will obviously have to look at how Carer's Allowance is assessed if they were to abolish or change these disability benefits. I just think that this is an important fact that should not be forgotten. This could have just as much impact on the Carer's as the disabled people themselves.

Edited August 25, 2009 by Mungypup
spelling

[Bookworm]

Yeah, cos our £50 a week are SUCH a drain on the nation resources.... I mean, god forbid we should get anything near what a foster carer gets...

 

(sorry, it's one of my friction points, in case you hadn't noticed )

[Mungypup]

If they were to make changes to DLA and AA it could possibly affect CA, and although I know CA don't pay very much, I also know that every penny counts to people in those situations, which is why I wanted to bring some attention to it. If they were to abolish CA as well or change how entitlement is established (which I'm not saying they will) it might also leave Carer's worse off.

Edited August 24, 2009 by Mungypup

[msowing]

Yeah, cos our £50 a week are SUCH a drain on the nation resources.... I mean, god forbid we should get anything near what a foster carer gets...

 

(sorry, it's one of my friction points, in case you hadn't noticed )

 

I feel the same Bookworm. I wonder how many foster carers there would be if they only got £50.

 

I also dont like that they are called foster carers,[apoligies to any foster carers reading I know you dont pick the title] they should be called foster parents [or family] because it is suprising the number of peolple I speak to who think because they are called carers the same as me that I get as much money per week as they do....I can only wish.

[tortilla]

Signed

[The GodMother]

most foster carers i know, there are about 4 at school son attends, get £150 per child per week.

 

Just dont think it is fair that they should be able to get more than a person thay cares for a disabled person.

[Bookworm]

I don't think that's the right way round, GM, I don't object to foster parents getting more money, I object to us not getting as much. ;-)

[The GodMother]

i know u dont but i dont think it is fair they should be paid more than a carer does. Some carers do twice as much as a foster carer does based on some of the care they have to give the person they care for.

 

So why is that right its not but as they desperatly need foster carers then they will pay more.

 

Also i have been doing some reasurch. For my FIL to pay a qualified carer, as in an agency worker or summing similar, for the work his daughter does his care component of the High rate dla he gets would need to be at least £6k a month based on the rates they charge where he lives.

[msowing]

Foster Carers also get up to 4 weeks free respite a year so they can get a break, a carer of a disabled person has to pay for respite so they can have a break at home or go away if they can afford it [thats a joke on carers allowance].

 

BTW not having a go at any foster carers reading I just think its grossly unfair the way that carers of the disabled are treated [like they dont matter because they will do it no matter what they get paid they wont see a loved one suffer]

[THE GRANDFATHER]

Signed

[mkb]

Got this email from disney.go.com/mickey/ asking for comments to be made.

 

 

This week we’re asking you to take the argument to the government by posting your opinions on their official green paper website. By doing this you will be contributing to the consultation process and your views – according to the government – will be taken into account when they begin work on drawing up the white paper due out next year.

We think it’s vital that you do contribute because, otherwise, you’ll be leaving it to others to speak on your behalf and they may not say quite what you want to say or with quite the passion that you might want to say it.

We also think it’s important that the green paper website reflects what sick and disabled claimants actually do think, rather than what anyone else would like to claim you think.

There are lots of places on the Big Care Debate website where you can have your say. All comments are moderated, so if you say anything especially rude or potentially defamatory it’s unlikely to be published

We suggest you either use the Executive Summary page here:

http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/greenpaper/execsum/

or the Having Your say page here:

http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/greenpaper/execsum/having-your-say/

You are asked to give your name and email address. Your name will be published on the site but your email address won’t. If you want more details about the confidentiality policy for this consultation you can find them on the Having your say page, under the sub-heading ‘Confidentiality of information’.

As usual, we’re not going to tell people what to write. There are lots of contributions from claimants on the green paper website already, so you can see what others have written. You may also be able to copy and paste things you’ve written to your MP or disability organisations into the feedback box, if appropriate.

The issue we’ve been campaigning about is the proposal to hand disability benefits over to local authorities. But there are lots of other issues in the green paper you may also wish to comment on. For example, there is the fact that the government have ruled out using taxes to pay for care (Option 5 of the funding options) before the ‘Big debate’ has even begun. Lots of people think general taxation is the right way to pay for care and that it’s wrong to take this option off the table before people have even been consulted.

THE CAMPAIGN SO FAR

A huge amount has been achieved in an astonishingly short space of time.

Information about the threat to disability benefits has been published on many hundreds of websites, forums and blogs.

Over 21,000 people have signed up to the campaign.

All the major disability charities, and the vast majority of the smaller ones are now very aware of this issue. This, for example, comes from the Arthritis Care website:

“A large number of people with arthritis have expressed concern to us about Government proposals to remove Attendance Allowance (AA) benefits, as part of a wider review of social care services.

Both AA and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) offer nationally-set, non-means tested benefits which are often vitally important to help keep people with arthritis active, independent and in work wherever possible.

Arthritis Care is opposed to any attempts to remove or subsume such benefits into mainstream social care services.”

The full statement is available here:

http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/campaigns/currentissues/socialcarereform

There’s also unlikely to be an MP in the UK who hasn’t heard from constituents about this issue. Replies have begun trickling in from them already. For example, labour MP David Drew has emailed a constituent to say:

“Like you I have serious misgivings about interfering with DLA and Attendance

Allowance and particularly the introduction of means testing.”

Remember, if you’re not a member of Benefits and Work and so can’t post on our forum, you can post replies from MP or anyone else at the newly established welfare watch website at:

http://welfarewatch.myfineforum.org/index.php

So . . . disability organisations informed . . . MPs quizzed . . . if we can now get a thousand or more responses on the green paper website, then all the major avenues for consultation will have been covered.

There are other things happening too.

In Cornwall today, for example, there’s a public petition signing going on at Lemon Quay in Truro from 12.00 – 3.30pm. The event is being covered by Radio Cornwall. More details of this and other possible petition signing days from:

http://www.politicalcripple.com/d/

We’ve also no doubt that someone will get a petition put on the No 10 website as soon as it opens for business on 7 September.

And we’ve heard from people who came across the campaign from letters and articles in their local paper, so there’s no doubt that it’s worth the effort of contacting your local media. Well done to everyone who’s managed to get coverage so far, do keep it up.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

For the present, we won’t be sending out any more emails asking you to do things simply because you’ve achieved in a few weeks more than we expected to achieve in months. But we do think it’s vital that disability charities actually seek members views and actively campaign on this issue. So keep the pressure up and let us know if you think they’re not being proactive enough.

We’ll do our best to keep you informed by email of any developments between now and November 13th, when the consultation ends. We’ll then delete this mailing list – we won’t hold on to your details. But you’ll still be very welcome to sign up to our free monthly newsletter if you haven’t already, so that you can keep yourself informed about what’s happening.

Meanwhile, please do visit the green paper website and let them hear, loud and clear, what you think.

Good luck,

Steve Donnison

Please feel free to forward or publish this email.

Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd

Company registration No. 5962666

[littlewillie]

Hi all, a further update from; Forum - Benefits and Work Forum

 

Dear Will,

This week we’re asking you to take the argument to the government by posting your opinions on their official green paper website.

Have your say at;

http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/greenpaper/execsum/

 

By doing this you will be contributing to the consultation process and your views – according to the government – will be taken into account when they begin work on drawing up the white paper due out next year.

We think it’s vital that you do contribute because, otherwise, you’ll be leaving it to others to speak on your behalf and they may not say quite what you want to say or with quite the passion that you might want to say it.

We also think it’s important that the green paper website reflects what sick and disabled claimants actually do think, rather than what anyone else would like to claim you think.

There are lots of places on the Big Care Debate website where you can have your say. All comments are moderated, so if you say anything especially rude or potentially defamatory it’s unlikely to be published

We suggest you either use the Executive Summary page here:

http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/greenpaper/execsum/

or the Having Your say page here:

http://careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/greenpaper/execsum/having-your-say/

You are asked to give your name and email address. Your name will be published on the site but your email address won’t. If you want more details about the confidentiality policy for this consultation you can find them on the Having your say page, under the sub-heading ‘Confidentiality of information’.

As usual, we’re not going to tell people what to write. There are lots of contributions from claimants on the green paper website already, so you can see what others have written. You may also be able to copy and paste things you’ve written to your MP or disability organisations into the feedback box, if appropriate.

The issue we’ve been campaigning about is the proposal to hand disability benefits over to local authorities. But there are lots of other issues in the green paper you may also wish to comment on. For example, there is the fact that the government have ruled out using taxes to pay for care (Option 5 of the funding options) before the ‘Big debate’ has even begun. Lots of people think general taxation is the right way to pay for care and that it’s wrong to take this option off the table before people have even been consulted.

THE CAMPAIGN SO FAR

A huge amount has been achieved in an astonishingly short space of time.

Information about the threat to disability benefits has been published on many hundreds of websites, forums and blogs.

Over 21,000 people have signed up to the campaign.

All the major disability charities, and the vast majority of the smaller ones are now very aware of this issue. This, for example, comes from the Arthritis Care website:

“A large number of people with arthritis have expressed concern to us about Government proposals to remove Attendance Allowance (AA) benefits, as part of a wider review of social care services.

Both AA and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) offer nationally-set, non-means tested benefits which are often vitally important to help keep people with arthritis active, independent and in work wherever possible.

Arthritis Care is opposed to any attempts to remove or subsume such benefits into mainstream social care services.”

The full statement is available here:

http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/campaigns/currentissues/socialcarereform

There’s also unlikely to be an MP in the UK who hasn’t heard from constituents about this issue. Replies have begun trickling in from them already. For example, labour MP David Drew has emailed a constituent to say:

“Like you I have serious misgivings about interfering with DLA and Attendance

Allowance and particularly the introduction of means testing.”

Remember, if you’re not a member of Benefits and Work and so can’t post on our forum, you can post replies from MP or anyone else at the newly established welfare watch website at:

http://welfarewatch.myfineforum.org/index.php

So . . . disability organisations informed . . . MPs quizzed . . . if we can now get a thousand or more responses on the green paper website, then all the major avenues for consultation will have been covered.

There are other things happening too.

In Cornwall today, for example, there’s a public petition signing going on at Lemon Quay in Truro from 12.00 – 3.30pm. The event is being covered by Radio Cornwall. More details of this and other possible petition signing days from:

http://www.politicalcripple.com/d/

We’ve also no doubt that someone will get a petition put on the No 10 website as soon as it opens for business on 7 September.

And we’ve heard from people who came across the campaign from letters and articles in their local paper, so there’s no doubt that it’s worth the effort of contacting your local media. Well done to everyone who’s managed to get coverage so far, do keep it up.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

For the present, we won’t be sending out any more emails asking you to do things simply because you’ve achieved in a few weeks more than we expected to achieve in months. But we do think it’s vital that disability charities actually seek members views and actively campaign on this issue. So keep the pressure up and let us know if you think they’re not being proactive enough.

We’ll do our best to keep you informed by email of any developments between now and November 13th, when the consultation ends. We’ll then delete this mailing list – we won’t hold on to your details. But you’ll still be very welcome to sign up to our free monthly newsletter if you haven’t already, so that you can keep yourself informed about what’s happening.

Meanwhile, please do visit the green paper website and let them hear, loud and clear, what you think.

Good luck,

Steve Donnison

Please feel free to forward or publish this email.

Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd

Company registration No. 5962666

© 2009 Steve Donnison. All rights reserved.

 

Kind regards, Bill.

[3333333]

Signed and SHOCKING!

If this happens and my wife(carer) as to go back to work full time to support us, the next time I decide to take my own life and there is no one there to talk to me to stop me attempting this, who will be responsible.

Also who will be there to give me my medication,meals and everything else that I can not do!!!!!!!!!!!!

[welshwarrior]

Signed

[Leahkins]

Thanks for the post Seftonview, had no idea about this at all . Absolutely disgraceful, once again the most vulnerable and in most need targetted by the government

 

Will definately be signing up for this.

 

But sign where? All I can see is a list of comments on that site, nothing to sign at all! Or am I being dumb?

[kiptower]

Care Support Independence Having your say